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　　国布里斯托市女教师凯利与人打赌，可以每日只花1英镑过活1年，结果她真的做到，不但成功省下1万英镑，还将自己的经历写成《我如何每天只花1英镑生活1年》的新书。据报道，47岁的凯利在克利夫顿英语中心任教，她每周要上20小时课，但年薪只有1万英镑。去年，凯利与友人饮酒闲谈时提起弟弟即将结婚，但她却没有钱买礼物，在几分醉意下，她与友人打赌自己能在未来1年每天只花1镑。凯利很快就找到省钱方法。她说：“我外出时总是背着一个大包，一旦看到商店有10便士的面包、减价蔬菜或其它东西，我就立即买下。”有时她甚至从垃圾堆中捡食店丢弃的食物。更甚的是，凯利经常在街上寻找大公司的市场调查员，趁他们向路人派发免费试用品时搜集日用品，结果拿了无数洗头水、化妆品样品等。许多商店在圣诞期间免费派送馅饼，凯利便伺机领取大量馅饼储存起来，足够食几个月。她还会从树上采摘水果，保持营养均衡。此外，凯利走路时很留意有没有人丢了零钱，1年来共捡到117英镑，相等于她1年开支预算的三分之一。为了省下饭钱，凯利可谓无所不用其极，她经常去大学参加公共演讲，因为演讲结束后有免费午餐供应。娱乐方面，除了曾搭顺风车往法国旅行，凯利亦会做义工，她现在的男友就是做义工时认识。凯利结束了整整1年的“每天1英镑”生活后，终于可以拿出1300镑给新婚的弟弟买了一份大礼。凯利说：“这次体验彻底改变了我的人生观，我现在过着一种完全不同的自在生活。

　　A teacher from Bristol has proved that you don't need to be a millionaire to survive the credit crunch: Kath Kelly has written a book called How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day, after she did just that. Her descent into self-imposed penury began when she was worried about how she was going to afford a decent wedding present for her brother and his fiancée on her ?10,000-a-year income. The 47-year-old told friends of her plans so that she would not be able to go back on them, though she soon wished that she could. However, once she had worked out how to survive on less than half the cost of a cup of Starbucks cappuccino she found it a lot easier than she had expected. The ?1 a day did not include the rent of her room in a shared house or the utility bills, which were all paid in advance, but had to cover everything else, including clothing, food and toiletries. “I discovered that if you buy the supermarkets' basics ranges, some things are very cheap. I bought three bars of soap for 18p. Asda also sells shampoo for 27p a litre. It isn't great but it does the job。” From the outset she set some strict rules for herself. If she spent less than ?1 a day she could carry the change over. This effectively ruled out bulk-buying as a way of saving cash. She also decided not to freeload from friends. “That wouldn't have been playing the game and by the end of the year I probably wouldn't have had any friends left anyway,” she said. Instead of being a dampener on her social life, the pledge of poverty meant that she was constantly attending free events, from book launches to gallery openings ... anything that might have nibbles or even a buffet table. Buses were out, so every journey had to be made on foot or bicycle, and as she could not afford calls on a mobile phone she would visit friends or leave them notes if she had anything to tell them. “As soon as they realised I didn't intend to be a freeloader they were fine about it, though some people did try to persuade me not to go through with it,” she said. “Instead of meeting for lunch in a café, as we used to, we'd take sandwiches and a Thermos of home-made soup and eat on a bench in the park。” Miss Kelly made the soup every morning from chicken carcasses given away by her local butcher and whatever vegetables she could find. She discovered that delis often sell whatever is left over at the end of the day very cheaply because they cannot keep it overnight. She steered clear of charity shops - there was rarely anything that she could afford - but found church jumble sales a good source of cheap clothes. She kept her eyes on the ground and, during a year in which she walked almost everywhere, picked up a total of ?117 in loose change. She said: “I kept it for emergencies but in the event I didn't need it so at the end of the year I gave it to charity。” She even managed to afford a holiday, hitch-hiking to her brother's house in Brittany. It took colleagues at the English Language Centre in Bristol, where she has a part-time job teaching foreign students, six months to discover what she was doing. Some had wondered about her recent enthusiasm for student trips, particularly when there was the possibility of free food on offer. At the end of the year Miss Kelly was able to buy her brother and his new wife a ?1,300 life membership of the National Trust as a wedding present with her savings, as well as contributing to the cost of the reception. She had also found true love, having met her boyfriend while helping out at an organic farm. During the 365 days of her experiment she went over budget only once, when she had to visit a dentist. The experience has dramatically changed her outlook on life. She said: “Before, I enjoyed spending money as much as anyone, but now I don't see the need for expensive things. I still live very frugally and don't spend much at all, though it is probably more than ?1 a day。” - How I Lived a Year On Just a Pound a Day, by Kath Kelly, is published by Redcliffe Press for ?6.99